Open AccessNumerical Modeling of Gas Flow in the Suncor Coke Stockpile Covers
Author(s) -
Lahmira Belkacem,
Barbour Lee,
Huang Mingbin
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
vadose zone journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.036
H-Index - 81
ISSN - 1539-1663
DOI - 10.2136/vzj2013.07.0119
Subject(s) - stockpile , coke , land reclamation , environmental science , convection , oil sands , airflow , hydrology (agriculture) , geology , geotechnical engineering , meteorology , waste management , materials science , geography , engineering , mechanical engineering , physics , archaeology , asphalt , nuclear physics , composite material
The occurrence of thermally driven convective air flow within waste rock or natural soil profiles has been well established; however, the potential impact that convective air flow may have on water storage within reclamation soil covers has not been previously explored. We conducted a numerical modeling study to evaluate the effect that convective air flow may have on stored water within a soil reclamation cover placed over a coke stockpile at an oil sands mine in Alberta, Canada. Coke is a carbon, sand‐like byproduct of heavy oil processing. Two‐dimensional simulations of thermally driven convective air flow were conducted for two different field sites based on available field data. The elevated temperature within the coke stockpile resulted in the development of strong convective air flow cells that drew in drier atmospheric air over the lower slope positions while releasing it across the upper slope and plateau areas of the cover. The magnitude of the gas flux and the intensity of the convection within the cell were a function of the air permeability of the coke and cover material, the depth of the coke, and the slope of the stockpile. It was estimated that convective air movement through the cover could produce as much as 1 to 2 mm/d of enhanced drying of the cover in lower slope positions. Field observations of water content distributions within the cover provided corroboration that the cover has undergone enhanced drying at lower slope positions.